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The Crystal Brawl
'' The Crystal Brawl ''is Popeye's 227th cartoon, released by Famous Studios on April 5, 1957. It features Popeye as the protagonist (in a dual role, as himself and as a fortune-teller), Bluto as the antagonist, and Olive Oyl as the third component of a love triangle. It is a clip cartoon that incorporates excerpts from Alpine for You (1951) and Quick on the Vigor (1950), augmented by wraparound footage that adds a new storyline. Plot Popeye walks up to Olive's front door carrying a bouquet of flowers and rings the doorbell. Bluto, arriving a moment later, makes use of a street tree to catapult the sailor out of the way and take his place on the doorstep as her date. Together, the two saunter off to the fair, where Olive is "just dying to have her fortune told." The scene cuts to the fairgrounds, where the fortune teller's tent displays a sign that reads "Out to Lunch." Thinking quickly, Popeye dons a turban and a fake beard and ensconces himself at a table holding a crystal ball. His two marks enter, and the bogus psychic proceeds to tell Olive's future (in a voice that Jack Mercer would later utilize for the Professor in the Felix the Cat ''cartoons) should she elect to pursue her relationship with Bluto. The crystal ball displays several scenes from ''Alpine for You ''where Bluto is revealed as a conniver who only wants to use Olive for his own sordid purposes. Following a vignette where he transforms her into a human yo-yo, the scene fades, and Olive is left with a realization of the big man's true motives. But immediately another vision follows, with a clip from ''Quick on the Vigor. ''Bluto appears at his most provocative as the strongman at a traveling sideshow. But as it, too, fades, with the libidinous lothario pursuing her on a roller-coaster with nefarious intent, Olive announces that she has no further desire to have any dealings with the duplicitous Bluto and walks out. Unable to resist, Popeye breaks into a hearty cackle with his own unmistakable voice. Bluto yanks off the false beard to reveal the fraud and lets him have it with a powerful punch that sends the diminutive trickster sailing right through the tent canopy and out across the fairgrounds. Bluto then sets out with a vengeance to reclaim his date and impose his will on her for the third time in this cartoon. Meanwhile, Popeye finds his way to some spinach. His resultant muscle morphs into another crystal ball, that indicates Bluto rapidly catching up to Olive inside the Tunnel of Love. Popeye takes off after his nemesis and effects a rescue just in the nick of time, sending Bluto to roast suspended over the 'Fires of Hades' display as Popeye and Olive have the last laugh. Gallery Bluto Outreach Attempt.gif Bluto Whipsaw.gif Bluto Devil's Spawn.gif External links *The Crystal Brawl'' at the Internet Movie Database Category:Popeye's Episodes Category:Famous Studios Category:Recycled footage Category:Public domain cartoons